One of Our 50 Is Missing

Rueful anecdotes about New Mexico's mistaken geographical identity, since 1970.

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FALSE CHARGE
After Jack Arnold moved from Manhattan to Rio Rancho, he called his bank in New York to transfer some money to his New Mexico account. “The banker told me that the transfer was going to cost me $25. I asked him why, since there was no charge for transfers between banks.” The teller explained that there was a charge for foreign transfers. With true New York chutzpah, Arnold says, “I told him to brush up on his geography and send the money at no charge, as New Mexico is part of the United States!”

MEET THE NEIGHBORS
Gary Thornhill, who has a winter home in Las Cruces, recently attended a meeting at his company’s San Antonio, Texas, office. As Thornhill told a colleague that he worked out of his home, he was interrupted by the San Antonio office’s company manager. “He said that he didn’t think that [working from Las Cruces] could be done because of the need for international calls and Internet connections to the United States.” Thornhill indicated that international calls are not necessary and that Internet connectivity is available in Las Cruces. “I was quite surprised by the manager’s remark, since San Antonio is so close to Las Cruces, not to mention that our company headquarters is in Albuquerque.”

DEBIT CARD FRAUD
Monte Thompson of Aledo, Texas, was unpleasantly surprised when his debit card was declined as he attempted to check out of his lodgings in Abiquiú. “I asked the manager to run it again, knowing that I had plenty of funds in my bank account.” The card also did not work for the following two days as he drove back to Texas. Once back in the Lone Star State, Thompson went to the bank to get to the bottom of the matter. “The manager looked at my account and the attempted debits in New Mexico, and then told me that for my security, they had placed a hold on my funds while I was in Mexico.” Thompson told her that he had been in Santa Fe, and other towns near there, and asked if she had ever heard of Santa Fe, which is in New Mexico. “She said that she had heard of Santa Fe and hoped that I had had a nice trip. She told me that the next time I went that I should call the manager to let her know that I would be using my card in a foreign country.”

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
Judy Eckhart was on a live chat with a major cell phone provider, trying to straighten out a problem with her phone. Twice the customer service representative asked for verification of her address. Each time, she gave the rep her street address in Santa Fe. Rep: Do you have access on your phone while you are in Mexico? Eckhart: I am not in Mexico. I am in the state of New Mexico. Rep: Oh, okay. Sorry for the confusion. Power the phone off and back on.

FOUL-WEATHER FRIENDS
As Carlson Simmons prepared to move to New Mexico from western New York, several friends asked why he would ever want to move to another country. “I hastened to explain that New Mexico was, indeed, part of the United States.” But why, he was asked, would he ever want to leave the Buffalo area? Rather than enumerate the advantages (starting with the weather), Simmons smiled and moved on. “I have settled in, and every morning when I go out to get the paper, I look up at the Sandías, and get a warm, happy feeling.”

CHEESED OFF
After a satisfying meal at the Melting Pot in Albuquerque, Judy Belvin joined the restaurant’s Club Fondue. She subsequently received an e-mail from the Melting Pot inviting her to come to the restaurant for free cheese fondue as part of the celebration of National Cheese Fondue Day. The next day, however, she got an apologetic e-mail from the Melting Pot stating that the offer applied only to those living in the United States. “I wrote to them,” Belvin reports, “and said that I was amazed that they have a restaurant in uptown Albuquerque, and yet they don’t know that New Mexico is in the United States. I have not received a reply from them.”

NO POSOLE
While playing Words with Friends (an online Scrabble game), Diane Botham Jones had a “pretty ugly hand,” but she brightened up when she saw that she could play the word “posole.” She received the following message: She continued, “In the past, I found out that ‘zia’ is not an acceptable word, either. Better change the state flag!”